Buckle and strap for cotton bales



Dec. 25, 1934. A. P. J. VOIGT ET AL BUCKLE AND STRAP FOR COTTON BALES Filed Jan. 2, 1952 A.EJ.\/OIGT. 01D. HORHAN.

FJiHERBEgxMOw Patented Dec. 25, 1934 UNITED PATENT OFFICE Application "January '2,

"6 "Claims.

The invention relates to animprovement in bale ties or buckles'and' strapsparticularly of the type used in baling cotton.

It is one of the objects of'the invention to provide an improved tie 'wherein projections are formed upon the tie so that they will=engagethe buckle to'prevent slipping of the tie.

Another object of the invention is to providea bale tie adapted to be'folded'bac'k beneath itself and havingprojections thereon to engage with each other to prevent slipping ofthetie.

Another object of theinv'ention is-to provide a bale tiehaving projections or lugs formed thereon which are spaced apart atleast a distance -equal to the length of the portion of the 'b'and [which is to be curved around the buckle-so that'the buckle is positioned between two adjacent lugs.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bale tie having substantially semi-circular depressions formed therein so that the lug formed by such depression will extend from the opposite side of the tie to engage thebuckle and prevent slipping of the tie when placed undertension.

Another object of the inventionis to provide-an improved buckle which will not release the "bale tie when the buckle is subjected to excessive stresses.

Still another object of the invention is toprovide-a bale tie having projections-thereon wherein one of the faces of the projection is-inclined'at a steep angle with'respect to the'surface of the tie so that a shoulder is 'formed-which-will engagethe buckle to prevent slipping-of the tie.

Other and further objects of the-invention will be readily apparent when the following description is considered in connection with'theaccompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 isa top plan view of the improved bale tie and buckle with the parts in 'position-asthey would be when the tie is'engaged about a'bale.

Fig. 2 is a broken sectional viewalong the center line of the tie and buckle shown in'FigJl and illustrating the tie in position with' the baled material pressing against the end of the tie tohold it in position.

Fig. 3 is an elevationoi a bale which is'tied with straps and buckles embodying the invention.

In connection with the 'baling of cotton and similar materials where the bale is iiormed under 50 enormous pressure it is imperative that the'bale ties or straps serve to securely confine the "material. Various types of bale ties have been provided but in a majority of these experience has taught that the strap will slide OI -giVB when the bale is subjected to undue stress or shocks such 1932, Serial No. 584,514 (Cites-22) as encountered in loading'or unloading the bales or when being compressed in storage. Various types of buckles have been devised to hold the endsof the ties'in proper position but it has been found that in order to obtain a positive grip of the tie upon the buckle that projectionsor lugs shouldpreferably be formed in the strap or tie so that these lugs will engage the buckle and prevent slipping of the tie after the bale has been formed. I

With this ln'mind, the present invention has been devised and in'Fig. 3 a'bale is indicated generally at 2. It is customary to confine this bale with 'aplurality of straps or ties such 'as 3. In forming the bale the material is compressed and theseties '3 are passed around the material. A buckle such as4'is carried by one end of the bale tleand the opposite end of the tie is passed through this buckle and 'recurved or folded beneath itself andth'e'material is then releasedby the press so that it -will expand to enga'ge the folded end "and retain it against slipping or removal.

Fig. lshows an enlarged view of the tie 3 and the *buckle 4 but the parts thereof are best seen in section in Fig. 2. The tie or strap 3 has one end "6 thereofpa'ssed aboutthe side member 7 of the'buckle' l. Thebuekles 4 are usually attached to one end of the strap 3 by a machine operationjan'd are provided for the compress in this condition. 'It should be noted that the end 6 is passed aboutthe side member 7 and is crimped or bent sharply at 8 and 9 so that the side member 7 is crimped in between the surfaces of the tie. I When'the tie is 'crimped as at'S and 9 there will be no 'slipping'andit will securely retain its hold upon thebuckl'e. However, the opposite end of 'the'tie indicated at 10 cannot be crimped by a machineoper'ation as the point, such as '11, thereof, whichlis'to be curved about the side member 12o'f thebuckle 4, cannot be determined until the bale has been'formed.

It is usual to have these ties or straps 3 passed manually about the bale and to have the end 10 passed through the'opening 13 of the buckle and bent beneath the'flat'portion 14 of the tie or, as an alternative and as the most common method the'tie man'estimates the'size of a bale by passing thest'raps' around the "bale and then bending the end 10 or the strap 3 as at '11 so "that he has then determined the "sizeof the bale, After the end 10 has been bent beneath'the portion 14, but sometimes slightly away therefrom, the curved portion or loop 15 thus formed is passed "over the projecting end 16 or the -'bi1ckle 4 by holding the portion 14; at substantially a right angle to the plane of the buckle so that it will pass over the projecting end 16 and through the space 1'7 formed between the end 16 of the buckle and the downwardly turned end 18 which serves as a safety catch or latch for the buckle. In this manner it will be readily apparent that the tie may be quickly formed and slipped onto the buckleby the tie man without the aid of any mechanical means.

It will be particularly noted that when the tie or strap is bent in this manner that it cannot be crimped or bent sharply due to the stiffness of the material of which the tie is made. Where the bend or curve of the material around the side of the buckle is not sharp the tie will be pulled from the buckle by the stress caused by the material when it expands.

The present invention in part relates to a manner and mechanism which will prevent slippage of this manually placed end of the strap which includes a plurality of lugs or projections 20 which are formed in the tie or strap by making depressions 21 in the surface thereof. These depressions are of a particular configuration, which is best seen in Fig. 1, in order to provide a properly shaped projection or lug to engage the side member 12 of the buckle.

These depressions 21 are formed with a die or stamp which has a crescent shaped face 23 with a crown 24 extending from the concave side thereof. In this manner the face 22 is formed with a considerable amount of material depressed by the crown 24 to back up or reinforce the shoulder 22.

As seen in Fig. 1, these depressions 21 are of substantially semi-circular formation but are made with the stamping surface of the tool at an inclination to the plane of the tie so that a steep face or shoulder 22 is formed as a projection from the opposite side of the strap. This shoulder 22 is arranged to abut against the side member 12 of the buckle as best seen in Fig. 2. When the shoulder or steep surface so abuts against the buckle no amount of pulling uponthe band due to the expansion of the material will cause the tie to slip around the buckle. This has been found to be due first to the fact that the shoulder 22' firmly contacts against the side member 12 of the buckle and in order to have any slippage it would be necessary for the projection 20 to be ironed out by the buckle. The material of the strap is too rigid to permit this because of the particular formation of the depression 21 so that the shoulder 22 is backed up by the material in the crown 24 to form a sturdy shoulder and the strap is thus properly retained about the buckle.

In some instances, however, due to excessive shock, the projection 20 may be depressed and permit a slight movement or slippage of the tie. When this occurs, however, the projection 25 will move to the left as viewed in Fig. 2, whereas the projection 28 will move to the right as viewed in Fig. 2. It is therefore apparent that these two projections will engage each other and limit any slipping movement. If, however, these projec tions 25 and 26 should also pass each other the projection 25 then abuts against the buckle l2 and serves to stop any slipping movement. It is to be understood that there are a considerable number of these lugs 20 as seen in Fig. 2. All of these lugs are uniformly spaced so that at the time the lug 25 engages 26 there will be a considerable'number of such contacts and it has been found in practice that the ties do not slip.

When the end 10 is folded back beneath the portion 14 and the pressure released from the bale the baled material 30 expands to engage the face 31 of the end 10 and causes the end 10 to be moved up against the portion 14 of the tie as seen in Fig. 2. There will be a certain amount of frictional engagement between the material 30 and the surface of the tie. It has been found, how ever, that this frictional contact is not of material advantage but that the advantage is obtained by pressing the end 10 against the outer portion 14 of the tie and when lugs such as are provided in this construction are present these lugs will engage each other or the buckle and the pressure against the surface 31 is so great that the lug 25 cannot move over the lug 26 nor can the surface 22, engaging the side member 12 of the buckle, move away from the buckle a sufficient distance to allow the strap to slip around the buckle.

The buckle 4 is of special construction in that the end 16 is a direct continuation of the side member 12. The end portion 35 of the buckle is continued beyond the side member 12 of the buckle and is turned downwardly as at 18 so that it passes below the plane of the side member 12 and the end 16. This is known as a safety buckle because any stresses on the tie member 3 are resisted by the hooked end 18 passing about the side member 12. Thus the side member 12 is supported by the hook 18 and by the opposite end 36 so that it is in the form of a pin supported at both ends as distinguished from the usual 0 type of buckle which merely relies upon the stiffness of the buckle material to retain the buckle in proper form.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A bale tie and a buckle having a rectangular loop, said tie being extended through said loop and folded back under itself, a plurality of lugs formed in one end of said tie, each of said lugs having one steep face, said steep face being positioned to engage the buckle on the outer end face thereof when the tie is recurved around the buckle.

2. A bale tie of the character described including a band and a buckle, one end of said band being fixed to said buckle, the other end of said band being passed through said buckle and curved back beneath itself, and lugs formed in the last named end of the band projecting inwardly toward the bale before passing through said buckle and positioned to abut against the outer side of the buckle when the band is placed under tension.

3. In combination, a buckle, a bale tie passing through the buckle, folded back, and curved beneath itself so that the baled material will press the portion which is folded back, in a direction outwardly against the uncurved portion, and a plurality of projections formed in said tie so that those on the curved portion will engage the projections on the uncurved portion to prevent slipping of the tie.

4. In combination, a buckle, a bale tie, a plurality of uniformly spaced lugs projecting from the side of said tie presented toward said bale, a steep face on one side of each lug, the outer side thereof having a gradual slope, said steep faces being so arranged that when said tie is passed through a buckle and folded back the same will engage the tie buckle or each other when the tie is in position on the bale.

5'. In combination, a bale tie buckle, a cotton bale tie including a band of metal, and a plurality of spaced substantially semi-circular depressions formed on the outer side thereof intermediate the edges of said band whereby lugs are caused to project inwardly from said band, forming shoulders thereon, so that when the free end of said band is passed through said bale tie buckle and recurved said lugs on the recurved end present said shoulders toward said buckle and engage the outer end of said bale tie buckle to fix the tie in adjusted position.

6. In combination, a buckle, a bale tie wherein one end is passed through the bale tie buckle and folded back beneath itself, a plurality of projections on the tie, said projections being sharply inclined in one direction whereby steep faces are formed on one side thereof, said steep faces being presented away from the buckle when said tie is extended around the bale and brought up toward the buckle, so that they will engage each other on adjacent faces near the end of the tie when the end of the tie is extended through said buckle and folded back away from said buckle.

JOHN DONALD MORHAN. FRANCIS JEAN HERBELIN. ALBERT P. J. VOIGT. 

